OBJECTIVE Intimal thickening is considered to result from the dedifferentiation of medial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) from a contractile to a synthetic phenotype, and their subsequent migration and proliferation. It is unknown whether nectin-like molecule (Necl)-5, which is overexpressed in cancer cells, is involved in intimal thickening. APPROACH AND RESULTS Necl-5 was upregulated in mouse ca...

OBJECTIVE Intimal smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are dedifferentiated SMCs that have a powerful ability to proliferate and migrate. This cell-type is responsible for the development of intimal hyperplasia after vascular angioplasty. Retinoids, especially all-trans retinoid acid, are known to regulate many processes activated at sites of vascular injury, including modulation of SMC phenotype and inh...

The development of coronary atherosclerosis in response to acute intimal injury and severe hypercholesterolemia was studied in 18 swine, nine normal and nine with von Willebrand's disease, an inherited disorder affecting platelet-vessel wall interactions. The left anterior descending coronary artery was denuded of endothelium by balloon catheterization, while the circumflex and right coronary a...

AIMS Transradial catheterization (TRC) is a dominant access site for coronary catheterization and percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in many centers. Previous studies reported higher intimal thickness of the radial artery (RA) wall in patients with a previous history of TRC. In this investigation the aim was to assess the intimal changes of RA using the optical coherence tomography (OCT)...

The distribution of nonstenosing, asymptomatic intimal plaques in 12 adult human carotid bifurcations obtained at autopsy was compared with the distribution of flow streamline patterns, flow velocity profiles, and shear stresses in corresponding scale models. The postmortem specimens were fixed while distended to restore normal in vivo length, diameter, and configuration. Angiograms were used t...

Atherosclerosis contributes to heart attack, stroke, and peripheral hyperplasia by 75% when applied to the vessel prior to angioplasty. vascular disease and remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. (Tabas et al., 2015). Atherosclerotic plaques can be treated by revascularization procedures, including angioplasty, stenting, or bypass surgery, but microtrauma to the blood vessel during thes...

Activation of the nuclear receptor/transcription factor, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR ), is a newly defined target for limiting vascular pathologies. PPAR is expressed in human and animal models of vascular disease, with particularly high levels being present in the cells of the neointimal microenvironment. In the present study, we show that intimal smooth muscle cells in vi...

In this study, the involvement of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) in the development of intimal thickening was investigated. A fibromuscular intima was induced by placing a silicone collar around the rabbit carotid artery for 3 days or 2 weeks; the contralateral artery was sham operated. Rabbits received placebo treatments (groups 1 and 3), granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (group 2; G-...

Not long after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery was described, several reports presented follow-up angiographic data on large cohorts of patients, demonstrating that approximately one-half of saphenous vein grafts fail within 10 to 15 years of surgery and that graft failure is associated with worse clinical outcomes. Three processes are responsible for vein graft failure. Thrombosis, int...

Techniques of arterial injury commonly used in animals to mimic endovascular procedures are not suitable for small mouse arteries. This has limited examination of the response to arterial injury in genetically modified mice. We therefore sought to develop a model of transluminal injury to the mouse femoral artery that would be reproducible and result in substantial levels of intimal hyperplasia...